Francis Walk-Off Forces Decisive Game Three in Ivy League Championship

ITHACA, N.Y. – Trailing 2-1 entering the
bottom of the eighth inning in the second game of the Ivy League
Championship series, the Harvard softball team got two runners on
base before Jennifer
Francis belted an 0-1 pitch over the center field fence for a
walk-off, three-run home run to give Harvard a 4-2 win over
Cornell. The come-from-behind victory by the Crimson forces a
deciding game three, the first time since the inception of
divisional play that the championship series has gone to three
games.

The Big Red plated a run early in game two as Elise Menaker
lifted a long ball to right center to give Cornell a quick 1-0
lead. Harvard answered right back in the bottom half of the inning,
manufacturing a run to tie the score after one. Ellen Macadam led
off with a single to center and advanced to second on a sacrifice
bunt by Stephanie
Krysiak. Melissa
Schellberg shot a 1-2 pitch to right field to bring Macadam in
with the Crimson's first run.

From the second inning on, both starting pitchers bore down and
kept the opposing bats quiet. Crimson starter Margaux Black
settled in and kept the Big Red scoreless through the sixth where
Rachel
Brown took over, while Cornell's Elizabeth Dalrymple kept
Harvard off the board through the seventh. Marissa Amiraian reached
base with a one-out single in the top of the eighth and, after
advancing to second on a wild pitch, scored on an Alyson Intihar
single up the middle, giving the Big Red a 2-1 lead. Mari Zumbro kept
the Harvard hopes alive with a two-out single in the bottom of the
eighth and Jessica Pledger
followed with a single to third. Francis was next up and ended the
game with a blast to center, giving Harvard a 4-2 win.

Zumbro finished game two with a 3 for 3 showing from the plate,
while Macadam, Krysiak and Schellberg all had two hits in the game.
Francis' three RBI was a game high and Schellberg also picked up an
RBI for the Crimson. Brown earned the win in circle, striking out
two in 1.2 innings while Dalrymple took the loss despite striking
out eight in 7.2 innings of work.

The Crimson and Big Red will play the deciding game three
tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.